Wizard Lord:I can Extract Anything

"An agent? Why would I need an agent?" Richard questioned, "I'm selling potions just fine on my own. Why bring in someone else to share the profits?"

"No, no, no, you've misunderstood me," Kevin quickly clarified, waving his hands. "I don't want a share of your magic stones. I just want the rights to sell. All the potion profits will be yours; I won't take a penny."

"Not a penny? Then what do you get out of it?" Richard probed, maintaining eye contact with Kevin. "And besides, you still haven't answered why I need an agent."

"For safety. Because you have a grudge with Joseph, you've impacted his business, and you have the woman he desires. He has enough magic stones to pay someone to curse you!" Kevin met Richard's gaze squarely, confidently stating his reasoning.

"And an agent serves as a shield and a whistleblower for you. Any curses aimed through the potions would hit me first."

Kevin's argument was compelling, forcing Richard to consider the value of this proposal.

"I need some time, Kevin," Richard stood up. "I need to verify what you've said. If I find even a hint of a lie, this deal is off."

"Everything I said is true, I swear on my family name," Kevin pledged solemnly.

...

On the 56th floor of the central Black Tower,

"An agent? Yes, it's a common practice," Chaxes sipped his drink. "Why the sudden interest?"

With Anna busy making Richard's custom machine, Chaxes was the only senior available to answer Richard's questions.

"Someone approached me, wanting to be my agent, saying they'd shield me from curses," Richard explained, tapping his fingers on the table.

"And they don't want profits, just the sales rights."

"That's normal. You should agree," Chaxes said nonchalantly. "Everything he said is true. An agent can indeed help deflect curses. With an agent as a whistleblower, you can better handle any curses coming your way."

"And they do benefit as well."

Richard frowned, "How so?"

Chaxes' eyes gleamed with insight, "Focus Potions are in high demand at the academy, not everyone can get them. By giving him the potions, he controls who buys them. He can keep a few bottles for himself and trade them for favors or magic stones with those desperate for potions."

"I see," Richard nodded, understanding.

"It's a win-win situation. I suggest you agree. Though Master Susanna is dual-schooled, her focus during the apprentice stage is definitely on the Enchantment school. Having an agent as a shield is a safer choice."

Richard stood up, "Thanks for your time, senior."

"It's no trouble at all," Chaxes waved dismissively. "Just sharing a bit of experience. You'll figure it out the longer you stay at the academy."

Back at Kevin's quarters, Richard and Kevin signed an agency contract.

Richard granted Kevin the sales rights for Focus Potions, while retaining control over pricing. The contract allowed Kevin to purchase up to ten percent of the potion output, enough to earn him significant goodwill.

Following this, Richard began testing materials. Various unusual materials arrived continuously through Kevin, and during this time, the machine Richard requested from Anna was completed.

It was a peculiar machine in Anna's eyes, divided into two main sections: the upper part held storage tanks for materials, and the lower part housed a cauldron. The storage tanks dispensed materials into the cauldron, which, upon receiving the materials, activated a stable magic transmission device to channel magic into the cauldron.

Inside the cauldron, a magic probe monitored the liquid's magic levels. Once the magic reached the set level, the transmission device would shut off, and another tank would dispense its contents.

Upon completing a batch of Focus Potion, the cauldron's bottom would open, filling a vial with the potion, then begin the next cycle.

The machine was about the size of a wardrobe and required three magic stones per activation, capable of completing ten brewing cycles.

While not fully automated, the machine greatly reduced Richard's workload, allowing him more time for experimentation and study.

With the machine operational, Richard set his monthly Focus Potion output to one hundred bottles—enough to seem abundant but not excessive. According to Jolord's records, past prodigious apprentices produced even more.

Even so, Richard's industrially standardized potions made a significant impact on the commercial district's handcrafted potion market.

...

"Udel, did you get one?" an apprentice shouted to a friend emerging from Anna's shop.

"Got it!" Udel replied, holding up a Focus Potion triumphantly, drawing envious looks from others still pushing to get in.

Anna's shop had become the go-to for quality Focus Potions, its reputation spreading rapidly among apprentices.

Soon, a loud voice boomed from inside Anna's shop.

"Focus Potions are sold out! Come back next month if you need more!"

Disappointed apprentices left the shop, some desperately seeking to buy potions at higher prices from others.

Meanwhile, the once-bustling Ulrich's Alchemy Shop stood almost empty, its previous queue forgotten by many apprentices.

...

"What did you say?" Joseph roared at the apprentice before him, "You say half of my potions didn't sell!"

"Focus Potions aren't selling!"

Joseph slammed the table in fury, nearly shattering it.

Two years ago, he boldly announced at an apprentice gathering that Ulrich's shop would sell no less than fifty Focus Potions monthly.

Back then, apprentices cheered the news!

Because of this, he invested countless hours making potions, neglecting his studies in alchemy.

Now, just two short years later, his Focus Potions weren't selling at all!

Faced with Joseph's fury, the apprentice could only smile wryly, head bowed. He was just an employee, dare not argue with the shop owner's son.

"Sir, the potions are here. Would I dare deceive you?"

"What the hell is going on?" Joseph demanded, suppressing his rage. Focus Potions, once a surefire seller, couldn't just stop selling. Something external must be affecting his business.

"Sir..." the apprentice hesitated, "You don't know? You're not the only one selling Focus Potions in the commercial district. Jolord's apprentice, Richard, is also selling them, and..."

"And what!" Joseph's eyes burned with fury, his glare nearly piercing the apprentice.

"And his supply surpasses yours, and his potions' quality is... more consistent," the apprentice carefully chose 'consistent' over 'better.'

"Consistent? Consistent!"

Joseph was nearly driven mad by this. As a wizard heir educated from a young age, his prowess in potions was outmatched by a wild apprentice who'd only studied alchemy for a few years!

Richard stealing his woman was one thing.

As he said, knowledge and magic stones were the foundations of a wizard's progress.

But now, Richard was taking his magic stones!

Damn it, taking his magic stones!

"...Sir, anything else?" the apprentice asked quietly.

Joseph waved him away. The moment the apprentice closed the door, Joseph exploded in rage, pounding the table.

In a near-mad frenzy, he destroyed everything in the room—smashing tables, breaking vases, tearing paintings...

The room became a wreck.

After venting, Joseph sat among the ruins, staring blankly at the wall.

Was his anger gone?

No, not at all.

He stood, straightened his clothes, and approached a cabinet, retrieving several stacks of academy currency.

After counting them to ensure he had enough, he donned a black cloak and headed to a restaurant in the residential district known as Corner Alley.

"Sir, what would you like to order?" a waiter asked.

Joseph gave the waiter a cold look. "Medium-rare Blackstone beef steak."

"...For whom?" the waiter asked, notebook in hand.

"For Richard, under Jolord."

The waiter paused, frowning at the name.

"That's a big name."

"D

o you refuse service?" Joseph retorted.

"We'll do it," the waiter replied, writing Richard's name before tearing off the slip. "But it'll cost extra."